The major internal efficiency concerns are dropouts,
repetition, and learning achievement. The number and proportion of dropouts has
declined in recent years, especially in Male’ Primary schools. This helps
reduce the cost per grade 7 graduate.

Similarly, in atoll schools, a larger number, and percentage,
of students are completing extended cycles. Rather than dropouts, the major
problem in certain island schools is the "force-out" problem that
occurs when a full 7-year education is not available at an island school and
other opportunities do not exist nearby. Many students participating in the
"special classes" are there because they have exhausted the formal
grades of schooling available in their communities. The NFEC’s condensed
education programme has helped some of these students achieve a grade 7
equivalence.

The problem of repetition continues to be a major source of
internal inefficiency. Also, the automatic promotion policy has shifted
repetition from grades 1 and 2 to grades 5, 6 and 7 where the costs of
repetition are often higher. The fact that the students in grade 5 may fail to
have even basic literacy and numeracy skills suggest that automatic promotion,
without proper in-school re-meditation, will have "wasted" four years
of instructions for some students.

Table 15: Internal Efficiency Indicators (%), 1996

(Male + Female)

Gr. 1

Gr.2

Gr.3

Gr.4

Gr.5

Ave. 1-5

Promotion Rate

91.5

90.2

92.4

93.3

77.8

71.0

Repetition Rate

7.8

6.9

8.0

8.3

22.2

11.1

Dropout Rate

0.7

2.9

-0.4

-1.6

0.0

18.0

Survival Rate

100

99.2

96.1

96.6

98.3

Years input per graduate

Pupil-years

1,085

1,066

1,045

1,053

1,264

Coefficient of efficiency

-

-

-

92.5%

89.2%

5.6

The survival rates have been calculated using the 5 internal
efficiency indicators and are given in Table 15. The results show that the
survival rate to grade 5 is 98.3% indicating that there is considerably high
level of internal efficiency and little waste at the Primary level. However, it
should be noted here that the data shows lower survival rate in grade 4. This
being cumulative cannot happen. Further data on dropouts for the grade 3 and 4
dropout rates are negative. Their inconsistencies cannot be meaningfully
explained. At best, can be attributed to the admission policy, which allows
children of appropriate ages and academic levels to join primary schools at any
grade level.

Percentage of pupils having reached at least grade 4 of
primary schooling who master a nationally defined basic set of learning
competencies

The Monitoring Learning Achievement (MLA) project is under
way and is due to be completed soon. Once the project is completed we will have
the required data for this indicator. However, various tests have been
administered to evaluate student achievement. The results of one such test
administered in 1997 – 98 to grade 4 children are reported here. There is a
good idea of the achievements of children at this level in Dhivehi, Mathematics
and English. Current work being done by the Ministry of Education and future
policy will ensure that an indicator on these lines will be used by Maldives.

Improvement in learning achievements

The real measure of internal efficiency is how much learning
takes place over the period of pre-primary and primary education. With no
standardised measure of achievement, and variable capacities among schools for
in-school assessment of learning, it is difficult to state with assurance the
degree of success or failure that may exist. For diagnostic and accountability
purposes, a common measurement of learning achievement is necessary, preferably
at grade 5. Also, grade 7 learning attitude will need to be assessed in order to
have an equitable means of admission for secondary education. To institute such
testing will require a major strengthening of the professional capacities of the
Department of Public Examination or of the Primary and Secondary schools
themselves. The latter is preferable in the long term but the upgrading of the
DPE is the only reasonable option for another 5 years or so.

Starting during the last few years the Ministry of Education
has embarked on a regular evaluation programme under which, among other
activities, pupil achievements in selected curriculum areas are being tested in
selected schools in Male and also in the atolls. This programme will be extended
to other schools in Male and the atolls. Accompanying this is a programme of
supervision of atoll schools which also looks closely into pupil achievements in
selected areas among other relevant aspects such as school management,
availability of resources. . The physical features, which have been briefly
described makes such visits very time-consuming and costly. Reports of the
measurements and evaluation and of the supervisory visits are available.

Pupils’ achievements in Male’

A few results are available on the level of achievement of
children in Primary Schools in a small sample of schools. A major objective was
to test whether pupils completing the 5-year cycle have acquired the
competencies to continue.

Grade 5 Sample Tests: English and Dhivehi were
administered to a random sample of grade 6 students in three leading schools.
The tests were based on the expected achievements at the end of grade 5. The
following results show a high level of achievement.

Table 16: Pass percentage in Languages

Female

Male

Total

Dhivehi

86

73

82

English

65

52

59

However there were very significant differences between the
schools, with one school having 100% passes in Dhivehi whereas another had only
79%. There were differences of a similar order with respect to the performance
in English.

Grades 4 and 5 Tests in Mathematics: The tests were
administered to all students in grades 4 and 5 in four schools in Male’. Based
on tests prepared by the respective schools the Ministry of Education
constructed the final test papers. The tests were regarded as an integral part
of the regular school-testing programme.

Table 17: Test result in 4 schools

School

No. of Candidates

No. of Candidates Passing

% Passes

No. of Candidates Failing

% Failures

Grade 4

A

354

322

88.5

32

11.5

B

352

328

93.3

24

6.7

C

275

205

74.5

70

25.5

D

365

323

89.2

39

10.7

Total

1 346

1178

87.5

165

12.5

Grade 5

A

425

384

90.4

41

9.64

B

376

337

90.6

39

9.4

C

352

274

77.8

78

22.2

D

372

306

82.3

66

17.7

Total

1 525

1 301

85.3

224

14.7

The Table 17 shows that while special attention needs to be
paid in some schools, on average they are good. But it should be noted that this
is based on a small sample.

The performance of children in several atolls is also good.
However in some subjects the performance is not satisfactory. For example, the
performance in English is very poor. The magnitude of failure is alarming and is
undoubtedly due to the quality of the teaching or perhaps the lack of it
altogether.

The Ministry of Education conducted tests in 1989 as part of
a survey of 14-year-olds. Tests were based on national syllabi for grades 1 –
5. The children were those in school as well as out-of-school (see Annex 2).
These results are not exactly comparable. They however indicate same
improvement. But there is some more evidence for recent years.

Aslong as teachers have to make judgments about
students' performance and progress, assessment and evaluation will play
essential roles in education. Assessment is an integral and important part of
the teaching - learning process. Assessment in the primary school system is
still dominated by traditional testing and evaluation. However, attempts in a
piece meal manner have been undertaken to institute continuous assessment. While
the teacher can no longer retain the old title of "disseminator of
knowledge" today's assessment must reflect the knowledge, skills and value
gained through each and every learning style. Assessment in the secondary school
is dictated by the orientation towards the GCE examination from London
University.

In response to some of the above issues the MOE is adopting
policies that include the following:

Providing additional supervisory support at central and atoll levels;

Reviewing and re-writing curricula framework and courses materials;

Providing in-service training to help qualify the untrained teachers;

Strengthening the teaching of English as the medium of instruction;

Strengthening the teaching of specialist subjects, such as science and
mathematics;

Providing early diagnostic assessment of school performance.

In the context of improvement of curricular relevance to
prepare students both for further education and for emerging employment
opportunities and to develop appropriate values and attitude, the Master Plan
particularly stressed overweighing of the primary curriculum on facts, and the
need to give more stress to conceptual thinking. Problems of transition are also
noticeable between some grade levels. Also there is a need for the primary
curriculum to reinforce the family, cultural, and religious values of the
Maldivian people, especially as the teaching in English increases. The relevance
of the curriculum at lower secondary level to the increasing number of students
studying at this level is increasingly questioned.

The Ministry of Education’s policy is to review both
primary and lower secondary curriculum frameworks in terms of needs for vertical
and horizontal integration, increasing relevance to students needs, and
stressing family and cultural values. This review is linked overviews of
examination procedures and to preparation of courses for teacher training.

Supervision of atoll schools

Increasing supervision of atoll schools is a part of the
Ministry of Education’s programme to improve quality. (There has been and
continues to be a supervision program for Male’ schools.)

During 1998 two supervision programmes were carried out one
in Noonu Atoll, Raa Atoll from 7- 13th March and the other in Thaa
Atoll from 5- 11th June. Some information from the March visit is
given below as an example of the efforts made by the Ministry to improve
quality.

During the March visit, tests in Mathematics, English and
Dhivehi were administered to samples of students from the schools visited. The
students were selected from grades 4 and 7. The tests were based on the normal
standard expected after completing grade 3 and the minimum standard after
completing grade 6. The intention was to test the adequacy of the attainment
levels of the students completing the respective grades. The marking was done by
the teachers of the respective schools, in accordance with the guidelines and
marking criteria set by the supervising team. The results are given below in
table 18. A pass is to be taken as obtaining minimum of 40% in the respective
paper.

Table 18: Performance of a sample of pupils in selected atoll
schools in Mathematics, English and Dhivehi (%)

School

Passes in Mathematics (%)

Passes in English (%)

Passes in Dhivehi (%)

Grade 4

Alifushi

31

0

26

Kandolhudu

19

0

Maduvaree

24

0

64

Meedu

53

0

75

Inguraidu

18

0

53

Total passes

28

0

41

Total tested

Grade 7

Alifushi

58

17

88

Kandolhudu

40

18

95

Maduvaree

7

17

95

Meedu

30

18

98

Inguraidu

30

12

80

Total passes

32

17

93

Source: Report of Raa Atoll Supervision Trip. Ministry
of Education.

As the supervision report comments that the poor performance
of the pupils in English it is due to lack of proper instruction because of the
unavailability of trained teachers and less exposure to the language, for
mathematics it is poor concept building and in the middle school level, the
medium of instruction being in English, for Dhivehi it is the inadequacy of
learning experiences in the language skills. (P.12)

2.5.9 The Literacy Programme:

The Literacy and Neo Literacy Programme, which seeks to
create an educated citizenry through achieving universal literacy for adults
stems from a growing awareness on the part of the planners that no meaningful
development can take place without the informed, intelligent and meaningful
participation of the masses who are seen not only as the beneficiaries but also
as the agent of the process or change. With the belief that basic education of
the masses is a necessary precondition for development, a national programme for
literacy a nationwide six-year programme of functional literacy was formulated
and announced by the President on 1st January 1980.

This programme was launched on 24th February 1980.
In 1986, a comprehensive review was undertaken, after which Atoll-wise
elimination of illiteracy was decided. Non Formal Education Centre that is one
of the professional branches of the Ministry of Education, delivers literacy
training in one atoll a year through a network of volunteers identified by the
atoll chief. The volunteers provide one-to-one instruction for a two-month
period in basic reading, writing, and mathematical skills. At the end of the
tutorial period, the students take the literacy test.

When the programme was launched, the literacy rate was
estimated at 70%. At the policy level, the programme was overseen by a national
council headed by the President; and at the administrative level it was managed
and monitored by the Ministry of Education and by the Atoll Chiefs and the
Island Chiefs. This ensured that the entire Government machinery was dedicated
to its support. By the time Jomtien Conference took place, the literacy rate had
reached 90%. The one-atoll-a-year process is still in progress, and will be
continued till the present 98.84% reaches 100%. The following table (Table 19)
from the report of the national census of 1990, gives the position with respect
to literacy in various atolls.

Source: Chaudhury, Rafiqul Huda, and et.al. Analytical
Report on the 1985 and 1990,

Population and Housing Census of Maldives.

The Table 19 shows that as of 1990, the country as a whole
had a literacy rate slightly over 90% with the rate for the females being
higher. It is only 3 atolls that have a higher rate for the males. Of the 20
atolls, 10 have a rate higher than 90%, 9 have a rate between 80 and 90% with
the lowest being 79.1. At the beginning of 1990 therefore Maldives was in a very
favourable position with respect to literacy.

The analysis referred to above examines the limitations of
the census data on literacy. It was not feasible to carry out an actual test and
there could be a response bias over-estimating the actual literacy position. The
analysis makes the following comment.

Since 1990, the country has concentrated on removing the
illiteracy. Teachers in the atolls were expected to conduct literacy classes
when they were not teaching in school. Special directives were given by the
Ministry of Education in this regard. Each teacher including the head of the
school was requested to conduct at least one literacy class. The present
position is that if any illiterate requests literacy instruction it has to be
provided. It is mandatory. Special instructions have been issued in this regard.
The Table 15 gives the literacy rates as of 1997.

Figure 15: Literacy Rate 1997

Two points are clear from the above tables: First, the ratio
of literacy is high through out the country. Second, there exist not much gender
difference in literacy. However, all this refers to ‘crude’ literacy of 3 r’s.
Information on the magnitude of functional literacy is lacking. On the whole,
the contribution of the indigenous system was such that Maldivians were already
a highly literate people by the time international attention were focussed on
illiteracy. Gender Differences were also not significant. The policy focus as
regards to adult education was to eliminate the marginal illiteracy and
provision of post-literacy and continuing education facilities using the
non-formal modes for improving the quality of life.

2.5.10 Non- Formal Education : Expansion of basic
education and training in other essential skills required by youth and adults

A system on non-formal education and training was developed
during the 1950s in response to the widespread literacy needs of those
Maldivians with little or no access to schooling. The Non-Formal Education Unit
was established in 1979 in the Ministry of Education’s Education Development
Centre to plan, implement, and evaluate literacy activities broadly defined. The
mission is "to enhance the quality of life of the Maldivian people by
providing self-developmental opportunities to those who miss regularly formal
education through strategically selected programmes of community and adult
education and to empower members of the community with the skills needed for
productive employment and advancement." The objective stated for the fourth
plan (1994 – 1996 ) continue to be relevant, which are as follows:

-Build a comprehensive and coherent non-formal learning system based on
the concepts of life-long learning;

-Continue the literacy classes and the functional literacy classes;

Provide educational activities for out-of-school youth through the
Condensed Education Programme to enable them to reach entry qualification
for various training courses; and

Develop a basic equivalency certificate.

Non- formal Education continues to play a vital role in the
education sector.

The Condensed Education Programme is helping a number of
early school leavers to gain valuable skills needed for further training and
active participation in community affairs. The training programme on early
childhood care and education by the Non-formal Education Centre has contributed
significantly towards the expansion of preschool education into the atolls.
Accordingly there are several institutes which offer non-formal education and
offer several types of the form of continued learning. The following table gives
the participation of children in some of the courses conducted by the Non-formal
Education Centre (NFEC).

Table 20: Number of people trained – 1994 to 1997

Activity

1994

1995

1996

1997

1. Condensed Education Programme (CEP)

126

235

61

42

2. Skills Development Course for Atolls

167

246

357

328

3. Early Childhood Development Courses

42

71

79

116

4. Distance Education English Language Course

Na

72

59

73

5. Skills Development Courses for Male’

166

293

296

332

Total

501

917

852

891

Source: Data supplied by NFEC

The CEP is the 3-year course in basic education offered to
youth and adults which is equivalent to the 7-year basic education in the formal
school system. The demand for it is decreasing reflecting the increasing access
to the formal school system. The skill development courses for the atolls are
conducted on the atolls. The number of different courses conducted was 27.
Enrollments in these courses, which have been conducted from the 80s, are given
in Annex 3. The Early Childhood Development Course is also meant for people on
the atolls and is conducted in the atolls. The large majority of the
participants are females. The output from this course serves as pre-school
teachers on the atolls.

Apart from the above courses, the NFEC also conducted
"Awareness Courses" on the atolls. These courses were in areas such as
home-gardening, nutrition, cultural games, first aid, reef fishing, home
science, mother and child health.

The Institute of Hotel and Catering Services was started in
1987. From 1990 it had been conducting a variety of short-term courses open for
people with experience in the related areas. No academic qualifications are
required as pre-requisites. The following short courses were conducted in 1990.

Table 21: Enrollment in selected short-term courses in IHCS
– 1990

Course

Male

Female

Total

Practical Pastry Course

11

0

11

Housekeeping Skills

10

0

10

Hotel Reception and Front Office

25

0

0

Asst. Housekeepers Dev. Prog.

11

0

11

Office Procedures in Hospitality

0

14

14

Basic Japanese Language

11

7

18

Special Catering Procedures

0

33

33

Total

68

54

122

Source: Data from IHCS

Similar courses have been conducted in the following years
with new courses also coming in. French and German course have been added with
advanced work in Japanese. Some other examples are: Commercial Cookery, Food
Service Operations, General Hotel Services, Health, Safety and Hygiene, Customer
Relations. Courses have also been conducted on the islands in Basic Pastry and
Housekeeping Skills in 1998. Including 1990, the total trained in these short
courses was 1325 comprising 477 females and 848 males.

The Society for Health Education (SHE) conducts counseling
services through individual and group counseling and through a telephone help
line. Trained counselors make annual visits to all secondary schools in Male’
conducting sessions for students. Field trips are undertaken to provide similar
services to atoll schools. Play therapy sessions are conducted for children who
require support. SHE along with a government company manages a recreational
enter for children. It has a regular monthly publication and its audio-visual
productions are regularly carried by the national broadcasting and television
services. It has also published a wide range of books. It runs a Family Planning
Centre offering a variety of services. A mobile health team provides such
services to the atolls. It maintains a Thalasaemia Laboratory and since its
inception has screened 22,706 people, mainly in the age range 15 – 25 years,
including 4441 people from islands other than Male’.

Radio programmes:

The Voice of Maldives broadcasts a programme called the
"Radio Haveeru." The "Radio Haveeru" is a series that
consists of seven different programmes, one for each day of the week. Each
programme is 15 minutes in length and is broadcasted twice daily. The programmes
covers areas such as General Health, Ilmee Ali, History and Culture,
Teachers’ World, Easy English, Easy Dhivehi, World Across.

The Television Maldives telecasts various awareness
programmes. Among them most notable are Faruvaa (a health programme), Kaththiri
(a programme on population education), Kamana (a programme to promote
empowerment of women), and a Children’s Programme

2.5.11 Effectiveness of the EFA strategy, plan and programmes

Where Maldives is concerned, EFA formed an integrated core in
the National Development Plans starting in the late 80s. Hence the effectiveness
of the EFA strategies is related to the effectiveness of the National
Development Plans as a whole. It is in this light that Maldives looks with
considerable satisfaction at the findings of the mid-decade review by UNICEF,
which shows the very satisfactory progress made by Maldives in not just
providing "near universal primary education" by 1995 but also
providing other services to children such as safe water, immunisation, etc.
These achievements were for the country as a whole and not just for Male’.

The strategies used by the Ministry of Education, referred to
earlier, take their place within the broader national goals and objectives as
would be clear from the following two national objectives listed in the Fifth
National Plan, 1997 – 1999, which have been pursued in their essence since the
early 80s.

To ensure regional and Atoll development addresses disparities and access
to natural resources, employment and income, housing and infrastructure, and
education and health services.

To ensure that the benefits of development are shared equitably among the
population and address the hardship and vulnerabilities of dispersed island
communities.(p.8)

Nursery and pre-primary education are not within the formal
education system. When pre-schools were started in Male’, the government paid
the salaries of the teachers. It also trained the teachers. Its cadre includes a
Pre-school Supervisor for Male’. The medium of instruction in these schools
was and continues to be English. The practice of subsidizing the Male’
preschools has since continued. It is natural that a demand for pre-schools of
the Male’ type should arise in the atolls. The traditional Edhuruge while
providing many essential services obviously could not develop a competency in
English, which is what most parents sought. While financial constraints have
prevented the government from extending the same subsidy for the atolls to
establish pre-schools, the government is now contributing to training the
teachers and provision of educational materials. Several policy reviews during
the last decade have questioned the sustainability of the subsidy to Male’
pre-schools in the light of both the inequity of not extending similar support
to the atoll and the very obvious financial constraints in doing so. While
substantial numbers of children in the atoll have access to a pre-primary formal
institutional provision, the strategy of promoting and encouraging the expansion
of early childhood care and education cannot be deemed to have been fully
effective. A review of this strategy is needed with a view to expediting the
expansion of ECCD.

Where the provision of an extended 7-year basic education is
concerned, an essential part of the strategy was the enhancement of the physical
infrastructure. As the UNICEF review indicates and the Education Sector Review
of 1995 confirms a 5-year primary cycle is a reality in all inhabited islands.
The provision of the extra physical infrastructure needed to convert them to
provide the 7-year cycle had obviously to be done. It is this component of the
strategy that has been very successful. To quote the Education Sector Review of
1995:

For middle school education, grades 6 and 7, incomplete
schools continue to exist in the atolls. Dramatic progress has been made in
reducing their number in the last five years and the goal is to guarantee all
children access to seven grades of instruction by 2000. (76)

Hence the upgrading of the physical infrastructure, provision
of teachers, increasing the capacities of the AECs and APSs and extending
support to improve the capacities of the private and community schools were
well-conceived strategies which have shown their impact as is evidenced by the
enrollment ratios. There is also evidence of a "a financial policy which
promotes a more equitable distribution of basic education opportunities".

The Maldives is quite confident that any present shortfall in
physical provision for extended basic education would be met by 2000 by pursuing
the current strategies. The following table indicates the magnitude of the
shortfall as of 1998. 24% of the Schools need to be upgraded to provide access
to basic education ( up to Grade7 ) in all Schools.

However, where quality is concerned, it has been indicated
serious shortcomings particularly in the atolls. A major issue in this regard is
the availability of the required types of trained and qualified teachers and the
quality of the teachers in the atolls. A very critical aspect is that the medium
of instruction in grades 6 and 7 is English. In a situation where the teachers
themselves are very weak in English, the achievement results cannot be very
satisfactory. The achievements in Dhivehi are in striking contrast to those in
Mathematics and English indicating that whatever deficiency exists the problem
is certainly not with the children.

A national curriculum has been in operation since 1984.
Institutional provision exists for on going curriculum revision. Pupil texts and
teachers guides have been regularly produced and upgraded. Institutional
provision exists for teacher education but for reasons arising from the very
special geographical features of the Maldives, the in-service education of
teachers is severely constrained. The policy has been to completely replace
expatriate in the primary cycle. This policy will be gradually extended to other
grades as well. Maldives has to work with the existing national teachers and
improve their quality over the long-term.

A very recently adopted strategy to support quality
improvement has been the launching of a systematic programme of supervision
extending to the atolls and initial work on preparing national standards for
achievement in selected subjects at grades 4 and 5. Supervision of atoll schools
has started in a planned way with adequate staff and tests have been
administered and analysed and shortcomings recognised. It needs to be noted that
professional staff is also in short supply in the country. Increasingly
supervision will have to be carried out by local staff. Though some expatriate
staff is currently being used the section is headed by a national.

It is recognized that none of these strategies by itself is
likely to make a significant impact on improving the quality of
teaching/learning. It is their co-ordination if not their integration into a
coherent package that is likely to have a significant impact. An achievement
oriented school culture has to be built up. Future strategy will keep this angle
in mind.

Using non-formal means to support the achievement of a 7-year
basic education has been a very successful strategy. The NFEC conducts the
Condensed Education Programme (CEP) which enables out-of-school youth and adults
to complete the equivalent of a 7 –year cycle in 3 years.

The NFEC and other government institutions have responded to
the needs of youth and adults by conducting a large variety of short courses
designed to enable, particularly the youth, to acquire new skills needed to
enable them to play a very useful role in Maldivian life. Many of the courses
are such as to enable them to be productive citizens of the country. It is
significant that the private sector has also responded by conducting courses to
enable the youth, some of whom are employed, to further their knowledge of
English. An NGO is playing a very active role in educating women in particular
and the public in general about aspects of health that are of particular
significance in the Maldives. It is also noteworthy that these efforts are not
confined to Male’ but are being slowly but surely extended to the islands.

In summary it may be stated that the overall strategy was
well conceived and implemented very satisfactorily. The principal achievements
during the decade are deemed to be the following:

The achievement of universal primary education, a 5-year cycle by 1995 and
near universal basic education by 1998 for children of school-going age.

The achievement of near universal literacy with no gender bias.

The laying of a firm foundation for a modern system of education serving
all of the inhabited islands though much still remains to be done to improve
its quality.

PART III

EFA: PROBLEMS AND ISSUES

In the context of having achieved near universal basic
education for all children and universal literacy without any gender bias, the
problems Maldives face relate to matters of quality. The normal problems that
any country faces have been exacerbated by the distribution of the Maldivian
population into about 200 islands scattered across a vast area in the Indian
Ocean.

As of 1990, the country had less than 1% of its population
with an educational level higher than upper secondary education. Only 8.62 % had
completed 7 years of education. Male’ had a slightly better position than
atolls. The low level of educational attainment of the adult population and in
particular, the national labour force, is a formidable obstacle to economic and
social development. A key role that education can play in the economic and
social transformation of the Maldivian society is to encourage and provide
opportunities for lifelong education. Any moment in life should be seen as a
time for learning. Learning should not be--based on the studies - work -
retirement sequence. The education system must promote continual learning
throughout life either within the formal or non-formal system.

A census has been taken in 1995. In the context of the data
on school enrollment, it could be safely assumed that the percentage of the
population with at least grade 7 is significantly larger. But Maldives does not
have a tertiary education provision leading to a first degree. Maldivians have
to go abroad to get their first and subsequent degrees. Now there are an
increasing number of Maldivians with first degrees, Masters’ and Doctoral
degrees. But it is likely that as a percentage of the total population, the
increase is perhaps marginal.

Secondary education has been provided on Male’ now for
about four decades and on the atolls for about the last decade. In terms of
numbers the total provision is still quite small. Hence while there should
certainly be an increase in the percent of the population with secondary
education, the increase is not adequate as is shown by the necessity to recruit
foreign workers for middle level skilled work.

A recurring issue has been the imbalance between Male and the
atolls in respect of educational provision. The very widely dispersed islands
with sometimes so low a population as not even to support a single school makes
it practically very difficult to provide the needed services. Essential services
are provided for a group of islands or an entire atoll as is feasible. The Atoll
Education Centre (AEC) and Atoll Primary School (APS) are such initiatives.
Hostel facilities, for children have also been experimented with. Health
services are also being provided on this basis. The inhabited islands have
recently been linked by a telephone system. The Ministry of Health in a recent
training programme for local personnel on maternal health has utilised the
telephone system for "tele-conferencing". The philosophy underlying
this training programme was that local people should be able to identify their
health problems, gather and analyse the required data, design and implement
their own solutions with their own resources. The project extended for over year
and was regarded very successful. In general, the distribution of the population
into small isolated groups between whom transportation of raw materials, goods,
fuel, etc. and communication is difficult implies that economic activities and
the associated infrastructure developments are likely to be concentrated on a
few relatively large islands. In about a quarter of the islands the total
population is less than 1000.

A few more major constraints exist for pre-primary and
primary education: finance, human resources, and management. The rapid increase
in pre-primary and primary students nationwide will place a substantial
financial burden on government unless the financing system is modified.
Government may not continue to fund Male’ pre-primary education and Government
primary schools, and continue assistance to community and Ward schools and the
private sector without a substantial increase in the share of the Government
budget allocated to education. Even with increased efficiency, more funds must
become available (from parents or Government) or expenditures may have to be
cut. Education receives highest priority in Maldives and the expenditure on
education by the country is one of the, if not the highest in the region as a
proportion of the GDP and the national budget.

Yet the country requires more resources. The Government
strategy to reform the education system is to achieve universal primary
education(Gr 1-7) by 2000, expand access to lower and upper-secondary schools,
continue external and internal post-secondary training, and invest more in
quality of education. The cost implications of these policies are substantial
and would push the currently high level of sector expenditure to an
unsustainable growth rate and create significant financing gap. If sector
requirements are met the education budget needs to grow at 8 percent per year,
much more than the expected growth of public spending and GDP at about 6
percent. The resources have to be found – domestically and from other sources.

A major problem the Ministry of Education had to face, was
therefore, the shortage of trainable persons for the teaching profession. Even
if funds are available, the supply of trained Maldivian teachers will be
insufficient to meet the requirements of the educational system over the Master
Plan period. More innovative schemes are required and most programmes could be
expanded. The obvious strategy the Ministry had to adopt both on account of the
demand and also on educational considerations was to recruit existing personnel,
even if the quality was low, so that access may be provided with immediate
effect. Unlike other countries that may have adopted similar policies, the
training of teachers was extremely difficult due to the shortage of professional
staff again arising from the shortage of people with the needed high level of
educational attainment. Maldives is making a very determined effort to break
this vicious cycle by an appropriate mixture of recruiting expatriate staff and
more training abroad for the increasing number of Maldivians now qualifying for
such studies. The training of atoll teachers poses particular difficulties. The
atolls are served by an On-site Teacher Education Programme that is the most
prevalent mode. Other modes are short upgrading courses and 10-month regional
in-service teacher education programmes.

While this shortage of trainable persons with high
educational levels affected the quality of the teachers, it has also affected
all other areas such as curriculum development, evaluation, supervision,
management, research, etc. Here quality staff is available but not in sufficient
numbers.

The ultimate constrain on pre-primary and primary education
during the next ten years may be the MOE’s own capacity to project needs, plan
reforms and initiatives, and implement change. The ability of the MOE to manage
an ever larger and more complex educational system will be the key learning
achievements that occur in pre-school and grades 1-7.

Maldives also faces particular problems arising from the
relatively small size of its total population. The size is not large enough to
sustain an economically viable tertiary system to produce the high-level
manpower the country needs. Apart from other disadvantages such as relevance of
the courses, foreign training is very costly and the country may not be able to
bear the cost of foreign training for all who require it.

Lastly, the statistical base and the information system need
many improvements. For e.g. data on expenditure are not available by levels of
education. Equally importantly, time-series data on a variety of indicators are
not collected and maintained. Such information is crucial for efficient planning
and management.

3.1 Strengths and Weaknesses

The public demand for basic education is very strong.
Empirical evidence for this was cited earlier. The National Development Plans
state explicitly that the provision of basic education for all children has the
highest priority.

The report on the Third Education and Training Project cited
earlier makes the following observation about the island communities’
contribution to education.

The second source of finance is the island communities
that contribute to education through ad hoc arrangements such as fundraising
or through payments in kind. Many island community schools have been
upgraded on a cooperative basis with the indigenous workers providing labor
and local construction materials. It is difficult to assess the community
contribution, as there is no consistent policy plan on school contribution
by private sources. In the past decades, individual and community
contributions have been significant, reflecting the strong social demand and
interest in education.

It is the normal planning processes of the country that
reflected the keen interest and support for education by putting forward the
goal of a 7-year basic education for all as far back as the late 80s. Hence
there was no need to mount special public awareness programmes for EFA. It is
the Maldivian people who wanted it and those who were elected to govern them
naturally responded.

The current National Development Plan has identified for all
the programmes and projects the principal Ministry or Department which has the
primary responsibility for implementing each and the other Ministries and
Departments which have to play a supporting role. Naturally the Ministry of
Education is the lead agency for EFA. Over the last few years there has been a
very significant institutional development of the Ministry of Education. While
still short of adequate numbers of professional staff, the major sub-systems
such as curriculum development, teacher education, evaluation, supervision,
research are all functioning with very adequate physical infrastructures. Its
plans have been developed after many relevant studies and policy reviews. The
Ministry is gradually computerizing the functions and providing training to its
Management and administrative staff in the use of new technology. The capacity
of the Ministry is limited by the problems referred earlier.

The bulk of the work that needs to be done is in the atolls.
The government has created a special Ministry of Atoll Administration that works
in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education. Limitations of certain
traditional practices have been recognised such as the capacity of the Island
Chief to take valid decisions relating to the educational and other changes
which are taking place. Assistance is being provided by posting professionals to
the atolls to assist in the administration.

On the whole, the system of education in Maldives is
characterised by a few major strengths and a few weakness, some by which could
be listed as follows.

Strengths:

High level of political commitment, high social demand for education for
education and training.

High literacy rate of over 90% with a slightly higher rate for female than
male.

Access to 7 years of basic education universalised.

Proportion of students entering lower secondary level of education has
increased dramatically in recent years.

Educational services, which were particularly limited in the atolls 2
decades ago, have progressed to the extent that universal coverage in 7 years
of basic education is targeted by year 2000.

Management of schools almost equally shared by the government and community.

Successful population education programme initiated to create awareness
needed to slow down the high population growth rate.

While quantitative expansion has been impressive there are qualitative
deficiencies including low levels of achievement in certain areas.

High proportion of expensive expatriate teachers

Low level of student - teacher ratio due to need to operate small
schools in many islands with small populations.

Rising expenditure pressures to meet an expanding enrolment resulting from
rapid growth in school age population and increasing transition rate to
secondary education. Lack of trained teachers especially in the outer islands.

Declining external assistance/donor support to meet gap between Government's
budgetary resources and the needed social sector infrastructure investment.

High repetition rates especially in grades 6-9.

Economy continues to generate labour demands well in excess of the capacity
of the education and training sector to supply.

It is necessary that the weaknesses are attended to by
appropriate short term and long term policies and plans of action, and the
system is strengthened further. Some intended directions for future action are
briefly outlined in Part IV.